restaurant 06, held last week from Sunday 6 August to Monday 7 August, at the Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park, made its mark with Australia�s restaurant professionals as the most relevant and dynamic event for the industry in this country.

Over 3300 industry professionals visited the event, with a large contingent traveling from interstate and regional areas. The event showcased 120 of Australia�s best suppliers to the industry including fresh produce, equipment, wine and other services relevant to the business of running a successful restaurant.

Exhibiting suppliers including Simon Johnson, Purveyor of Quality Food were delighted with the industry support of the show:

�I have been really impressed by the amount of great chefs and restaurateurs that we have seen at restaurant 06 over the two days.�

The show, punctuated by a number of popular features created a much needed forum for restaurant professionals to discuss key issues and demonstrate their skills. Features included The Restaurant Business Talks, Culinary Skills Theatre, Wine Sessions, Spirits Showcase and the very amusing Hot Seat hosted by Mikey Robbins and Simon Marnie from ABC 702 Sydney.

Star panelists in the Restaurant Business Talks included Maurice Terzini from Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Peter Gilmore from Quay and Simon Thomsen from the Sydney Morning Herald who spoke on a panel with fellow reviewers Guy Griffin and Franz Scheurer in the opening session to a packed audience on how to get a good review.

Guillaume Brahimi from Guillaume at Bennelong gave advice on how to retain customer loyalty in a fashion conscious city:

�I�ve never been to a trade show like this before. If the industry responds to it then it is only going to make us even better.�

An important milestone for the Australian restaurant industry, restaurant 06 was the first time the industry has joined together in such a way to discuss key issues about the business of running restaurants. Key messages that came out of the discussions included the need for restaurants to be able to access sound business advice, the need to create a training program and career path for those working in the front of house and the need for regional chefs and waiters to have access to city level training via exchange programs. Caterina Tarchi has already agreed to take on some floor staff from Wollongong for one week of training at her restaurant Machiavelli�s in Sydney�s CBD.

Justin North from Becasse, headed a line up of Australia�s best chefs cooking with their favourite produce in the Culinary Skills Theatre:

�It is great to finally see Sydney and Australia with a good quality event such as this, focused on restaurants, great wineries and top quality product.�

Martin Boetz of Longrain also showed his support for the event taking part in all the main features at the show:

�The turnout for restaurant 06 has been really overwhelming for me, so many people who are a big part of the industry have taken time out to come and do it.�

Wine companies made up 30% of the exhibitors creating an opportunity for restaurant wine buyers to see a collection of Australian and International wines under the one roof. Wine buyers were pleased with Sommeliers from Sydney�s best restaurants attending the event such as Sean�s Panoroma, Aria, Pilu and Bayswater Brasserie.

The wine education at the show was presented by award winning Sommelier, Chris Morrison from The Vindependant. This forum encompassed discussions and tastings of wine from around the globe. The final session, a not to be missed champagne tasting was hosted by leading wine personalities Huon Hooke and Peter Bourne, the lucky participants tasting ten different Champagne styles concentrating on Prestige Cuvees.

restaurant 06 was organised by niche market event company Single Market Events, who has a prolific history in producing food events. Richard Wright, Director of Single Market Events, Australia was delighted with the enthusiastic support shown by the industry for the inaugural event.

�The success of restaurant 06 clearly shows the need for a dedicated event for the restaurant industry. It was great to see so many leading restaurateurs together under one roof, and initial feedback from exhibitors and sponsors has been overwhelmingly positive. restaurant 06 has created the perfect platform for us to further develop the event in 2007.�

For more information, to organise an interview or to receive a transcript of the Restaurant Business Talks please contact Genevieve Taubman

GTLIFESTYLE p 02 8354 0702 m 0414 472 665 e genevieve@gtlifestyle.com.au